If you were to ask people to sum up the “Christmas Spirit” in one word, “hope” would certainly be among the favorite responses. This hope isn’t just modern sentiment born from our need. It was part of the Christmas story from the very beginning. The Christmas event was the fulfillment of hope for the Jewish people—a way to overcome the oppression of the Gentiles who had ruled them for centuries. But the irony is it was also the fulfillment of hope for the Gentile oppressors as well. The Christmas event was and is the introduction of hope for the entire world—a hope that God has something better in store for us than what we have made for ourselves.

With our focus on happiness and joy to the world, we forget that Christmas is ultimately about rescue. The Christmas story begins with the truth that God determined Jesus would be born, would live and grow into the man He was, and would give His life for us. This was God’s plan of rescue and He would not allow anything men did to derail His plan. His love for us was too strong, and His plan to rescue us was too important. The very end of the Christmas narrative is a reminder of this fact. God loved the world so much He made certain His plan of rescue would be carried out.

When He comes, everything will be made new. That includes us. How then should we live? As he ends the letter—his encouragement to “Remember”, he insures that we know how someone who will be living in this new world lives.

It is popular for people to talk about the promises of God. Unfortunately, most of them aren’t really what God has said, but what people want Hm to say. But God has promised some very important things, and one of the most important of these is that Jesus will return. When? How? We don’t know, but we know He is coming, and that one fact gives Christians all around the world the encouragement to stay faithful.

It would be nice to be able to listen to anyone and believe them. But the truth is not everyone speaks the truth. Some fail to do so out of ignorance. Others knowingly out of various motivations. So what do we do, and what is God doing?

Peter is one of the few—those remaining who were eye-witnesses of the ministry of Jesus. He claims the authority of one in this position, but also lets himself revel in the memory. Then he reminds the church of the nature of God’s words, where they come from, and why they should be listened to.

Peter knows his end is near, so he reminds the followers of Christ that there are eight qualities they can supply themselves, which will build their faith and relationship to Jesus. By supplying themselves with these things, they can avoid stumbling in their life—and faith.

The Apostle introduces himself and his letter by reminding Christians that we have been given everything we need to live—and to live loyally to the King. The prophets and the Apostles have given us insight into this life—and Peter insures we remember.

Christians forgive. We don’t just talk about it, we do it. We do it because we understand how much we have been forgiven—and that no ultimately no one has sinned worse than we have, when we understand that our sin caused the death of Jesus. But our forgiveness of others is related to our awareness and appreciation of our own forgiveness. It is essential for spiritual health that we understand the connection between these two.

Jesus said people would know we belong to Him because of our love for one another. Understandable when you remember that John said the very nature of God is love. Of course, that bets a question. What love? Whose definition of love? What exactly are we commanded to do? Whether our spouse, a neighbor, a friend or an enemy, this commands pretty much covers how we respond to everyone, so it is important for us to understand what Christians do when we say “we love”.

Christians listen to God. We start with His Word, because that’s why He gave it to us. We listen through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and through the guidance of wise counsel reflecting the Word. This sounds simple—and it usually is. The complicated part is when we become doers of the Word, not just hearers.

We have a King. What does that mean? It commands loyalty. If we can’t serve two masters, and Jesus is the master, then we serve Him. Not out of duty alone, but loyalty to the King. Loyalty beyond question or opinion—extreme, fierce loyalty.

The heritage of a culture is the richness of values, beliefs and behaviors which characterize that culture. For Christians, this means looking into the Word and understanding what God has already told us about belonging to Him. We have a heritage—that which is passed on to us as members of the Culture of Christ. We need to understand it, cherish it and live by it.

Traditionally, Labor Day in America is a time where workers get off from their usual job as a rewards for their year long daily grind. However, when it comes to Christ, our work is daily, and we must always be ready and willing to share the Gospel with those we encounter. It is our labor of love. For Labor Day weekend in 2018, we asked some guest speakers of the congregation to share with us on how their work and services has shaped their walk with Christ and with others who are seeking the Lord.

It’s not easy to forgive someone who has hurt us. But when we do something to hurt others, we want to be forgiven. And above all, we want God to forgive our sins. Does that just happen, or do we have something to do with forgiveness? Many have opinions on this, but the one whose opinion we need to know is the one whose forgiveness we seek. What has God said?

Those of us with a few years on us remember the retort GIGO when we complain about the result of something. It was used to describe why computers—which were supposed to be so advanced—could make such extraordinary errors. The answer? Garbage In Garbage Out. So, are we the same as computers? Is what comes out of us—thoughts, words, actions—the result of what goes in? If so, what is the garbage we have to beware of?

We have a nasty habit of “rating” people—whether by simply comparing them with one another or by using some sort of numerical system. But God has the final word on what “perfection” looks like, and he doesn’t keep it a secret.

Failing to plan is planning to fail! We all know that. We need to know where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. There’s only one problem. We have no way to be sure our plans will come to pass—or for that matter that they’ll even be good if they do! So how do we plan to make plans?